NGE: Another History
by The Talking Tangerine
Summary: An Alternate Universe separate from the main Eva timeline. New angels, New pilots, New Evas, New Nerv. A minefield of conspiracy and half-truths. Trust nobody. Someone is playing the long game.
1. Chapter 1: Neon Genesis

Authors Note (entirely skippable): Hello this is my first fic ever. I started writing it awhile ago based on an Adeptus Evangelion campaign scenario that I wrote then realized it would work better as a fanfiction. After lurking on this site for a while my friend (Godzilla327) finally convinced me to make an account and publish. Since this is based on Adeptus Evangelion it is set in an AU separate from the main Eva timeline hence most of the characters are OCs.

If you see any grammar/spelling mistakes fell free to DM me or something and I'll try to fix it ASAP. All kinds of feedback are appreciated especially constructive criticism since I am always looking for a way to improve my writing. I really hope you enjoy!

* * *

July 9th 2015, exactly 1400 hours, Kumomoto Airport, Japan

The light stung Alexanders eyes as the ramp in the cargo ramp of the D-2 Griffin opened. When he woke up earlier this morning to board the supersonic aircraft he had expected to be landing in Shanghai, China not Kumamoto, Japan. He was young, no older than 15, with greasy brown hair. He wore a khaki and yellow NERV uniform with a patch which read 'Eva Pilot, Unit 02' on the sleeve of the jacket. His companion, a blond woman, was dressed much more casually, simple blue jeans and a well-fitting white t-shirt. She had an air of confidence about her in contrast to the boy.

"This doesn't look like NREV 00" the boy said.

His companion held up her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. "That because NERV 00 is in Neo Kagoshima 80 miles south of here."

"The guy on the radio said that 'the Angels have returned.' Do you believe that?" he asked nervously.

The blond woman scratched her head "Well he had the proper authentication codas, so I'm inclined to trust him."

A single figure exited one of the main terminal building and quickly made its way toward the pair. As it crossed the deserted tarmac its features became clearer. He was a tall grey haired man with a large belly. He was wearing a Soviet officer's uniform, one hand held the cap under his armpit the other outstretched to shake. "You must be the Americans" he said with a wide mustachioed grin "I am Agent Yuri Bazarov NERV section two, we spoke over the radio."

The blond woman shook his hand. "Agent Abigail Green NERV Section Two. This is-"

The large man raised a hand to cut her off. "There is no need. The boy's reputation proceeds him. Alexander Cooper; Forth Child, America's contribution to Spartan Legacy, soon to be Pilot of Unit 02 and in the splendid care of Agent Green." He turned to the young man. "All correct I trust?"

"I guess so. " Alex said sheepishly, running his fingers through his hair.

"Good, there is little time to waste, come with Me." the Russian turned back the way he came and the two had to jog slightly to keep up with the man's enormous strides.

Alex turned his head and whispered "Abby do you know this guy? What's going on?"

"I've heard the name Bazarov before but I never met the guy. His ward is the Third Child which means that she'll probably be around here somewhere too, so keep your eyes peeled ok."

The tall man pushed through the double doors to the main terminal building. The air conditioning felt nice compared to the sweaty interior of the D-2 Griffin. "At 1300 hours today the NERV outpost in Okinawa detected a code blue heading north through East China Sea" Agent Bazarov explained as the trio moved hastily up the stairs to a second set of doors.

Abby interjected "The only positions of strategic importance in this area are NERV 06 in Shanghai and NERV 00 in Neo Kagoshima and I'm guessing you think its gunna touch down in the latter otherwise you wouldn't have rerouted us."

Bazarov chuckled as he held the door for the two. "Very good Agent Green."

Alex paused, "Um . . . how do you know its heading for NERV 00? If you don't mind me asking."

The Russian deflected the question "Strategic guess." He glanced knowingly at his fellow agent. "Come quickly there is someone I want you to meet."

Alex was taken in by the sight of the empty terminal. He had never been to a civilian airport before but from what he had scene in movies they were supposed to bustling with people from all corners of the globe. But this place was desolate, almost eerie "Where are all the people?" he asked

This time Abby answered "Article 14 of the treaty of New Istanbul, the UN can seize any building it needs to for military use."

 _That's not right_ Alex thought. He didn't always agree with the UN did in the name of security but he had to go along with it, after all it was his job.

Their guide hurried them into a nearby conference room. The room was bare save a large table littered with maps and charts and a brunet girl in a khaki and yellow jacket. She appeared to be older than Alex but not by much and was maybe half an inch taller than him. "I would like to introduce Ms. Natasha Lavrova; Third Child, Pilot of Unit 01, Spartan Legacy and pride of the Second Soviet Union."

The girl crossed the room and looked directly at Alex. She sniffed the air around him and said something in Russian "Yemu nuzhen dush"

Alex couldn't understand. _Maybe I should introduce myself, first impressions are important after all._ Alex though as he extended his hand to shake. "Hello, I'm Alexander Cooper, the Fourth Child." This did not have the desired effect however and only seemed to confuse the girl.

Bazarov spoke up. "She is not so good with English, perhaps you try Russian or Japanese?"

Alex didn't know any Russian and he hadn't used his Japanese in years. He sighed he would have to give it a shot. He took a moment to compose himself then spoke "hellow… I am… Alexander Cooper… I am the… four child"

"Your Language skills need work." Responded the girl fluently.

Alex took this in then searched his mind for a retort. "What… did you say… recently?"

"I said you look weak." Natasha said flatly to which Agent Bazarov barked something in Russian, clearly upset with her, "Yes sir," she snapped to her commander. "I'm sorry, Cooper I'm sure you're very capable."

"Agent Abigail Green, good to meet ya." Abby spoke just as fluently as if she was born Japanese. She stuck out her hand to the girl for a shake but got a salute in return.

Alex watched this. He had herd that the other Eva pilots could be odd but he had never thought anything of it, after all everyone he met was a little odd, but this girl was different somehow. Something was off about her. Creepy wasn't the right word for it. She was . . . obedient.

There was a crackle of static and Bazarov put his finger to his ear. "I have just received word that Unit 01 has touched down on tarmac. "He looked to Alex. "Your Unit 02 should be arriving soon. Now that we all speak the same language there is planning to be done."

"Yes sir" rang Natasha.

"Right?" said Alex cautiously, questioning his own grammar.

XXXXX

July 9th 2015, approximately 1500 hours, NERV 00

"Launch!" blared a voice from his headset.

Chief Engineer Eddie Bishop watched Eva Unit 00 rocket up the catapult to the streets of Neo Kagoshima on one of the monitor mounted on the walls of his compact office. The angel wasn't expected to make landfall until 1800 hours but this gave the Second Child time to prepare. From this tiny room the paralyzed man could communicate with nearly everyone in the Geofront.

He flicked a switch on his headset. "Lt. Okamoto how goes the repairs on our comm systems?"

"Not to good sir." Replied a feminine voice "it looks like poor maintenance is the culprit. Were just lucky we got the message from Okinawa before the network shut down. In any case we won't be making contact with any of the other NERV facilities today."

The Canadian Engineer nodded "Understood how about you Lt. Adams how the evacuation coming?"

This time a man's voice came over his headset. "Not too well, nobody's taking it seriously the shelters are at half capacity, the NKPD is doing their best to round up the stragglers. Hopeful the sight of a 40 meter tall armored cyborg walking around district two will scare some sense into em."

"I just hope that Capitan Clark can take that thing out with the home fleet, then we won't even need to use the Evangelion Unit 00" said a voice the Engineer recognized as Lt. Romanowski.

 _Damn it!_ Bishop thought to himself. _Everything has to go wrong on the day the Commander visits._ The Commander had held off on appointing an Operations Director for NERV 00 but with the external comm system failure and the mismanagement of the state of emergency. It looked highly probable that this was his last day as the de facto ruler of his little fortress. He intended to make the most of it however.

Bishop flipped a switch on the desk and a miniature holographic display appeared before him. It showed a three dimensional representation of Neo Kagoshima. It was nicknamed the floating city because of its foundations or rather lack thereof. When Old Kagoshima was destroyed in the second impact Neo Kagoshima was build floating directly above it namesake's ruins. The city itself surround Mt Sakurajima like spokes on a wagon weal. 6 of the city's 12 districts shared the dormant volcano's borders. Each district was a web of various canals and waterways layered on top of a standard city grid that is accept for District 1 which consisted of the 'dry parts' of Old Kagoshima. Bishop sighed, for now at least all of this was his responsibility to protect no matter what fallout tomorrow might bring.

XXXXX

July 9th 2015, 1600 hours, Kumomoto Airport

Agent Abigail Green snorted anxiously and set down the radio headset the airport had provided her. The data pad in her hand it showed an outline of a grotesque creature with fins, scales and fur. Even its silhouette radiated menace.

"Is what they'll be fighting?"

"If the radar station in Okinawa is to be believed." responded Agent Bazarov

Abby looked up from the old-fashioned LCD screen "'Do you think their ready?' Is what I meant to ask you? Natasha is your charge and you've read Alex's dosser thoroughly."

"They? Why do you defer to my judgment on forth child?" Bazarov probed. "He is your charge no? You should know him best. Could it be you are looking to confirm your own worries?"

"Well, you're a perceptive one." Abby said with a smirk

"Thank you, it is my job "Agent Bazarov smiled back. "I was KGB operative back when UN allowed such organizations to exist."

"Can I get an answer?" Questioned the blond.

Bazarov sighed "Natasha has much experience in Eva if anything happens she will help Alex. Why the concern if I may ask? His scores in simulations were adequate."

"That just it, they were simulations the kid has never even seen a real Eva let alone fought an angel in one."

"You forget. No one has fought an angel in 15 years, and back then there were no Evas. You let your worries get the best of you."

The two were interrupted by a voice over Abby's discarded headset "Unit 02 is fifteen minutes out mam."

Abby quickly snatched up the receiver. "Thank you Corporal." She turned her attention back to Bazarov "They may be worries but for now their very real." With a sharp turn Abby opened the door to the terminal. "Alex! Natasha! Front and center." she called out to the two pilots who were going over the last minute details of their combat plan.

"Mam" Natasha said as she popped up from her seat followed sluggishly by Alex.

Abby tossed a small parcel to each of the pilots. "These are your plugsuits, they're each equipped with A10 clips, neural feedback dampeners, remote defibrillators, vital monitoring systems and an auto-tourniquet system. You should get changed now, Unit 02 will be here soon"

Alex seemed confused as he opened the package but he didn't say a word. Natasha must have picked up on this because she spoke up. "The color of the suit is the same as your Eva's mine is olive green with orange accents, just like my Unit 01, and yours is the color your Eva will be."

This only seemed to clear things up a little for Alex "The… one for… simulations… were all… gray." He said slowly. Staring at the dull red and grey plugsuit. He looked mystified, though Abby knew this was

"Natasha I'm making you team leader for this sortie" Abby stated causing Natasha to smile faintly. She spoke to Alex in English to make sure he could understand "Alex I want you to follow her lead. Do what she tells you ok." The boy nodded in affirmative.

Natasha quickly saluted with her plugsuit tucked under one arm the way Bazarov had earlier. "I won't let you down mam"

"Please knock it off, if you salute me every time we talk your arm is gunna fall off." Abby said in the most respectful way she could think of.

XXXXX

July 9th 2015. 1800 hours just north of Neo Kagoshima airspace

Natasha Lavrova looked out over the mountains north of Neo Kagoshima. One could be forgiven for thinking they had left earth entirely. The roiling green hills that surrounded the city looked pristine but not just that, almost like they were from a time before humans ever existed. And slowly but surely signs of civilization cropped up as they flew closer to the city. First farmland than suburbs than the city outskirts and then finally the metropolis proper.

 _My god…_ she thought to herself in near disbelief. Once the city came fully into view it was clear where the angel had been and where it had not, at least it was from the air. There was a trail of destroyed buildings that started at the waterfront and crossed serval of the waterways which crisscrossed the city and ended with two blurry figures fighting in the distance. As they flew closer she got a better look at them. One was humanoid, clearly an Eva its head has a single curved horn in the center and glowing white eyes it was painted entirely neon blue but for its wing pylons, shins, forearms and knees that were pastel white. It was in trouble. Natasha could tell that by the way it was running. One of its legs was injured it stopped for a moment to fire its pallet rifle and Natasha shifted her attention to its target.

It was a hulking monster as tall as an Eva but what caught her attention was its arms which were of unnatural proportions they were at least twice its height in length and ended in three hideous fingered claws. Its legs were quite muscular and bent backwards. Its scaly back was arched with hideous spines that looked vaguely like oily feathers at a distance.

Natasha took note that each time it took a swing with one of its massive arms it had to move the other one to the opposite side of its body to keep its balance. This could come in handy later. As the monster turned its body in preparation of another strike, Natasha caught a glimpse of the creature's massive cyclopean eye and more usefully the monsters core which was directly below it.

There was a suddenly a flash of movement as the massive titan's right arm sprang forward at unnatural speed. The blue Eva tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. The force of the hit tour the pallet rifle, shattering it to pieces, sending the blue Eva crashing through several buildings with a severe dent in its chasse before collapsing in a pile.

There could be no more waiting around she hoped to god that Cooper understood the battle plan. He had been very difficult to talk to with his broken Japanese, thick American accent and every few minutes he seemed to zone out so she had to snap her fingers or shout to get his attention. Not to mention this was his first time in a real Evangelion. "Cooper" a small window appeared on her left which showed a live feed of him running his fingers through his greasy hair.

"What… is it… Natasha" he said in what must have been his best impression of a toddler learning to speak.

"We need too drop in a second, are you ready?"

"Right!" he exclaimed loudly. As the ES-18 pilots who were listening in on their conversation lowered their altitude to 300 meters above the ground. The sound of the aircraft seemed to distract the angel momentarily as it stopped its advance toward the blue Eva to witness the commotion before lumbering back around.

"Ok, were detaching in 3… 2… 1… detach" a small red timer appeared above the commwindow counting down from 5 minutes. Both Evas fell from the aircraft as the mechanism that fixed there wing pylons to the underside of the aircraft unlocked. Natasha didn't really get a good look at Unit 02 before they took off and took this time, however brief, to study it. It was red with grey accents and a large grey stripe in the center of it body save the wings which had the NERV emblem emblazoned proudly in grey on either side. But it wasn't the Eva's wings or its body that intrigued her but its head. The Evas head did not have two eyes like her Unit 01 or the blue Eva, it instead had six. Three on each side positioned symmetrically down the center of its head in a pattern reminiscent of the number six on a die.

They hit the ground with a crash in the middle of a triple wide intersection and, after taking a second to recover, they had to find an umbilical cable fast. It didn't look like the blue Eva had allot of time left. Once they each acquired an umbilical, which took all of 5 seconds, they began to sprint toward the battle.

They didn't have much time before the angel was within striking distance of the blue Eva. They stopped about 250 meters from the angel and opened fire in short alternating bursts with their pallet rifles making sure not to kick up too much debris, as not to obscure their vision.

They each emptied an entire magazine into the beast but it had no effect. "AT field" huffed the Alex through the commwindow.

 _There's no way to beat this thing, it's impossible to get close to and our ranged weapons might as well be firing spitballs!_ "Useless!" she shouted as she flung her empty pallet rifle at the approaching angel.

It ricocheted ungracefully off the angels back. The hulking beast turned to face them. "I think… you made it… mad" said the Forth.

Just as she was about to retort an idea was beginning to forum in her mind. _My pallet rifle made it thought the AT field… maybe this thing is vulnerable to slow moving attacks which means…_ if I can get into melee range… "Cooper, I have a plan!"

"Right!"

 _I'm going to assume that means 'you have my undivided attention'_ "This thing cant attack with both of its arms at the same time that means if we charge it together than only one of us will get hit!"

He paused for a moment before responding. "That still means… that one of us… will get hit."

"But that means that the other can finish it off in melee, its arms are too long to defend close quarters and when I threw my pallet rifle it didn't hit the AT field. This thing is weak to melee!"

Alex didn't answer. Natasha wasn't sure if he was trying to translate what she said or if he objected to the plan either way it couldn't wait. "I have more experience in the Eva, I was made team leader for this sortie! Remember!?"

There was another long pause before a begrudging voice said "right."

They both drew there Progressive knives from there wing holsters. The blades hit the air with a sizzle. The angel was only about 120 meters away now and closing. "On my mark we charge."

"Right"

"3… 2… 1… Charge!" both Evas sprinted forward as fast as their legs could carry them but the beast didn't throw a punch, instead it waited for them to come into its striking range, extended its arms to their full length. And began to rotate clockwise. Destroying every building within 100 meters. It was too late to stop they had fallen into its trap. One of the Angels massive forearms crashed into Unit 02's right side sending it flying into Unit 01.

"AAAAHHH! AAAHHhhhh! Ehh… ehhh… ehhh… AAHHHH!" Natasha looked through the commwindow to see the Fourth Child clutching his right arm and screaming at the top of his lungs. She looked outside to see Unit 02's right arm mangled beyond recognition. _What a wimp._ They were not linked to the command center right now so there was no one who could cut the neural link remotely. He would just have to deal with the pain.

It was then that she looked past the damaged Unit 02 and saw what was left of the city which had become there battlefield. The angel now stood at the center of a pile of rubble that used to be district two.

Then a voice came over the comm, it was Agent Bazarov, he spoke to her in her native Russian to make sure that she understood. "That thing just destroyed half of District Two! For the love of god attack that thing now!" it was then that she saw here opportunity to strike that last attack had taken allot out of the beast and it now stumbled.

She sprinted toward the monster ignoring the progressive knife dropped at her feet. The creature saw her coming and tried to dodge the tackle but it was too late, she was upon it.

Her first strike was to its bulbous cyclopean eye blinding it. Her fists were covered with mush as they emerged from the now empty socket. The creature let out a moan of pain and squirmed under the heft of the Eva. Her next attack was on the core itself which she basher repeatedly until the immense gem cracked under the weight of her attacks. First one tiny crack than another and another then a substantially larger crack followed by the final blow. The core shattered and its light faded.

Natasha exhaled through clenched teeth. _I did it, I actually did it._

* * *

Authors Note: I have a few chapters already written that just need a touch-up before publishing so it won't be terribly long until the next chapter. If you like my writing style, but not my OCs, I also have other fics featuring the original Eva cast, although I don't know when they will be ready for posting. Thank you so much for reading.


	2. Chapter 2: A New Home

A/N: Remember when I said then next one would be out quickly? . . . Me nether.

July 9th 2015, about 1800 hours, ruins of district 2 Neo Kagoshima

BANG! BANG! Jain woke up, she tasted blood but that was normal. BANG! BANG! She sat up, all the screens in her entryplug said the same thing "CONNECTION ERROR" in bold kanji. BANG! BANG! Someone was trying to get in. She turned to face the hatch at the bottom of the plug. FUCK! A shooting pain flew through her left leg and she let out a whimper.

BANG! "I think… I got… it" said a muffled voice. Then the sounds of the hatch turning and liquid hitting the ground as the last LCL was drained from the cylinder. She looked for a place to hide but found none. Someone stuck their head in the hatch, she craned her neck to see who it was.

A voice shouted questioningly into the darkness "Hello?" it was a boy about her age maybe a little bit older, he was wearing a red plugsuit and had short brown hair and black eyes, not just dark eyes black which gave her chills. Then she remembered everything the battle, her getting punched out and her entryplug ejecting. The boy spotted her and offered a hand "Hello!" Which she swatted away.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" She tried climbed out of her entryplug but as soon as she put weight on her foot she felt a shooting pain up her leg which immobilized her. Damn it! I think I sprained my ankle. She turned to the boy and forced a smile. "On second thought I could use a little help."

"Right." He helped her out of the entryplug where she saw another pilot, this time a girl, wearing an olive green plugsuit to match the massive Evangelion behind her. It looked almost the same as her Unit 00 except for the paint job and the absence or a cranial horn. It was kneeling down with its back hunched so that it would be easier to climb out of. I'm guessing that one didn't have to eject. Then she looked past the Eva and saw what was left of the city.

"What the hell did you guys do?!" Jain gasped.

"We saved your life." Said the girl matter-of-factly.

"Yah but you destroyed half of District Two! Where am I going to buy my clothes now?!" She tried to take a step but let out a grunt of pain. The boy tried to catch her but Jain pushed him aside.

"You're injured." the girl said.

"No, I'm fine" she looked down at herself, still dripping with LCL, some of her snow white hair got into her eyes and she brushed it aside quickly.

"…Hospital!" the boy said loudly upon seeing another look of pain sprawled across her pale face.

"Slow down Caveman. They can fix me up back at NERV. Who are you guys anyway and what's his deal?"

This time the girl replied "We are the designated pilots of Units 01 and 02, I am the Third and he is the Fourth." Still deadpan.

"Hello… my name is… Alexander Cooper." Said the Fourth

"He doesn't speak Japanese very well." Said the Third

'Unit's 01 and 02'? "What gives? I thought Unit 02 was still in development in China? And Unit 01 was in transit to NERV 03?"

"When the observation post in Okinawa detected the angel we were redeployed." Their conversation was interrupted by the distant sound of helicopter blades. It was faint but unmistakable and caused all 3 pilots to turn their heads.

"Who… that… be?" Alexander asked

"I think I have an idea." Jain narrowed her eyes. That prick.

XXXXX

July 9th 2015, approximately 1800 hours, the skies above district 2 Neo Kagoshima.

Vice commander Hayato Kailash looked at his superior with concern, Commander Fujiyama was always a man of few words, though he had much to say, but he had never seen him so quiet. It was almost as if he was in a trance.

"Kailash, you know what this means don't you?" he spoke.

"The angels have returned?" Kailash answered quickly.

"That much is obvious. No, this means that Lilith is there target, not Adam"

Kailash raised a tricky eyebrow at this answer "Don't you think that's too early to determine."

"If they were at all interested in Adam then they would have attacked NERV 03. It's not as well defended, only having the half completed Unit 03 as sentry, which could be defeated quiet easily by the angel we have witnessed today." The commander did not take his eyes off the window. "My point being if they wanted Adam they would have him."

"You will have a hard time convincing SELEE of that." Kailash said with a smile.

This caused Fujiyama to turn quickly revealing his face to Kailash for the first time since there flight began. He was a man of 55 but his hair was greyer and his face had more wrinkles than a person of his age should have. This gave the appearance of a much older man . . . A much angrier man.

Instantly knowing what provoked this reaction Kailash pointed to his headset. "Were on a closed channel, we can hear the pilot but he can't hear us."

Upon hearing this Fujiyama discernibly calmed. "Even still, I will need Evangelions to defend Lilith." He paused for a moment as if to ponder something "Units 01 and 02 will remain in Neo Kagoshima."

"You're going to have to go to Europe to smooth things over with NERV 03, they were expecting Unit 01 and Director Ikari doesn't give up without a fight."

"They can't fight me. Now that the angels have returned. As Commander of NERV I have been granted emergency powers by the UN, one of which is absolute authority over NERV resources. It would take a very powerful person indeed to defy me."

Kailash smirked knowingly "Even still, you're going to be much more mobile now. You can't put it off any longer, you will have to appoint an Operations Director for NERV 00."

"I anticipated this and I have already appointed a candidate." The Commander spoke without batting an eye, his composure impeccable.

The Vice Commander sighed "I think I know who you mean but unfortunately Mr. Kaji has been missing for 2 days now, the authorities in Hamburg have yet to turn up anything."

"Unfortunate as that may be, Ryoji Kaji was not who I was referring too." Kailash raised a tricky eyebrow to this. "In my briefcase there's a file labeled Green. It contains her dossier. Kailash reached under his seat and pulled out a silver briefcase. After undoing the locks and skimming the dossier he replied.

"She's a bit young don't you think? For the last 4 years she has been the guardian of the fourth child, no combat experience."

"If I wanted someone with combat experience I would have chosen Clark. She graduated top of her class at West Point and showed an exceptional understanding of large scale battlefield tactics and logistical management. Her inexperience will only make her that much easier to control."

The Vice Commander leaned back in his seat "Have you cleared this with SELEE?"

"I have there full support." Knowing that he had gotten all the information out of the Commander he would get. Kailash turned to face the window and once again gazed with quiet awe at the fallen giant and the sphere of destruction surrounding it.

Just as the scrolls predicted. The craftsman is dead.

XXXXX

July 11 2015, about 0300 hours, Neo Kagoshima district 7, Hotel Sakura

The Hotel Sakura had a reputation not just for being the only four star hotel in Neo Kagoshima but also for its close ties with the UN. It was NERV's favorite place to stick visiting officers and officials because the persuasive power of complementary massages and silk sheets. Despite this Alex couldn't sleep, he lay flat on his back staring at his arm.

It had been mangled by the angel 2 days earlier and he felt the worst pain he ever felt in his life. Yet when he left his entryplug he felt nothing. During training he was told that he would 'feel the Evas injuries as if they were his own' but he had never experienced it himself. It was unnerving how real it felt. Was this what he was going to have to deal with from now on? What was the point of the 4 feet of armor plating if he was just going to get hurt anyway?

The hotel room door slid open and Abby yawned at him lazily. "Are you still awake do you know what time it is?" She peeled off her jean jacket and tossed it on the bed.

"Do you? You're only just now getting home?" questioned Alex

"Don't call this home just yet." Replied Abby sleepily as she collapsed in a pile over her completely undisturbed duvet, seeming content to make it her 'nest' for the night. "We're moving out of here tomorr- er" she looked at the clock "-today."

Alex sighed with relief "Good, I've been wondering when we would get back to Nevada."

"I'm sorry Alex." Abby turned serious "I should have called you when I first heard the news." This caught Alex's attention. Completely forgetting about his arm, he sat up. "We're going to be staying in Neo Kagoshima with Unit 02 and-" She paused not quite sure how to cushion the blow for the next part. "-I've been promoted, we just finished filling out the paperwork. I won't be able to be your guardian anymore."

Alex was dumbfounded and questions raced through his mind. Promoted to what? How? By who? Where will we stay if we're leaving the hotel today? Will I ever go back to NERV 02? He silenced these questions and asked the important one. "… The angels, will I have to fight them again?"

Abby lifted her head. "Yes, you will"

But I'm afraid "But I'm not qualified. Have you seen what those things can do? I was useless in the last battle."

It was Abby's turn now to lean forward. "You're one of the most qualified people on the planet. You're a Spartan Legacy, one of only three in the world, you've been training for this since you were 7."

"That's still no excuse for being useless." Alex whispered "If anything it just means I'm more of a failure. I wasn't even supposed to be a Spartan Legacy, I had the lowest sync ratio out of all the American candidates, I'm just here because they're all dead."

Abby crossed the room and sat next to Alex she thought for a moment then spoke "I've known you longer than anyone, you can fight the angels and you can pilot the Eva. If you have any trouble just talk to the other pilots they can help you out." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey it's gunna be alright, I promise."

This calmed him down. "Thanks Abby." The two sat there a moment and the window of the hotel room was open letting in the first rays of morning. Alex could see the large military structure that was the entrance to the Geofront. That's where I'll be living I guess. He thought. "Hey Abby, what are they gunna do with the angels body?"

"Study it I suppose. Dr. Kimura says that its scales are as hard as diamonds. That sounds pretty interesting." Abby said.

"I meant about the smell."

XXXXX

July 11 2015, approximately 1700 hours, Mt. Sakurajima Geofront

Natasha walked with her hands at her sides. She looked around at her fellow pilots. The Fourth was yawning, he had been half asleep the whole tour, almost as if he missed an entire night's sleep. The Second was complaining about having to take a tour at all. Occasionally she would stop to take a breath and blow her long white hair out of her face.

"I've lived at NREV 00 since I was 4! I know my way around." The Second yelled, her arms folded in the most dissatisfied way possible.

"Now Jain..." Their guide spoke. He wore the rank of Captain on the collar of his black NERV officer's uniform and a union jack patched on its sleeve. He looked to be in his mid-30s, his hair was cut short, dark and his stubble unshaven." You're not here for the tour you're here to spend time with your fellow pilots." His Japanese was heavily accented. "If you are to become an effective fighting force you have to know each other inside and out. That means spending as much time with each other as possible."

She shot him a hostile glare with her purple eyes which he returned with gusto.

They all stepped out the doorway onto a moving sidewalk atop a bridge. At the end they just came from what was an octagonal spire which stood 0.3 kilometers from base to peak and functioned as the entrance to NERV HQ. At the other end was a parking lot and an asphalt road which led out to the wide open fields and forests of the Geofront.

The walkway carried them across the chasm which Natasha had noticed was a concave dome terminating at the base of the spire. It was about 0.1 kilometers down at its deepest point and suddenly she was thankful for the railing.

When they reached the end of the bridge there was a car and a man in a khaki NERV uniform and a blue beret waiting for them. Their guide went ahead of them and spoke to the man. "Pvt. Benson you're dismissed." He said firmly.

"But… sir I was… ordered by the new… operations… director to show the… pilots to their… barracks." He obviously had trouble speaking Japanese

Their guide smiled. "Actually, I was hoping to do that myself."

"…Sir?"

"These pilots will be the ones fighting the angels, not us. Their actions will determine the future of humanity. They have been made my responsibility and I intend to make their first impressions of their new home a positive one. I trust this job to no one but myself. Now I say again Pvt. Benson you are dismissed." He continued to smile.

"Yes… Sir Captain Clark… Sir." The private sputtered then walked quickly in the direction the group had just came from.

By this time all the pilots were watching with great interest, even Alex seemed to be more awake. They watched the khaki clad man speed walk away, once he was out of earshot Jain spoke. "Hey Fourth that guy speaks worse than you do." Alex shot her a look but didn't say anything.

While the other two pilots were eyeing each other Natasha examined Captain Clark. He was not like the other military officers she had scene, he was more informal, his face was unshaven and his uniform unkempt. Despite this he still appeared to run a tight ship and all his subordinates seemed to regard him with fear, respect or some combination of the two. He also smiled allot which unnerved her. She watched him get into the driver's seat with great suspicion.

The back door of the Sudan popped open as if by magic and the captain's voice could be heard from inside. "Pile in, there's plenty of room." Jain was the first to enter followed hesitantly by Alex and finally by Natasha who closed the door behind her.

'Plenty of room' my ass Natasha thought

It was a tight fit Alex nearly elbowed Jain in the face putting on his seatbelt. "Hey! Watch it bozo!"

"…Sorry"

"Next stop pilot barracks." Said the Captain as the car started to move.

This is ridiculous "Capitan wouldn't it be better if one of us sits in the front passenger seat?" Natasha asked.

"Can't, were picking up a fare-" He was cut off by the commotion coming from the back seat but didn't take his eyes off the road. Natasha looked to her left at her fellow pilots angrily. The Second was berating the Fourth for almost striking her and 'almost messing up her pretty face' while the Fourth was muttering apologies in clumsy Japanese. They were creating quite a ruckus and making it hard have a conversation.

Natasha could not believe what she was seeing. Their lack of discipline is astounding! How could this be? The Fourth is a Spartan Legacy just like I am and the Second says she has been at NERV since she was 4! How could they both interrupt a superior officer like that?! If the Capitan won't say anything to quiet them I will! But she didn't have to say anything for as soon as she opened her mouth to speak the front passenger door popped open and in sat a woman with dyed black hair. She wore a lab coat with a NERV ID which read Doctor Honoka Kimura.

Her presence seemed to immediately silence everyone in the car. "Doctor Kimura!" accept Jain who greeted her with a smile.

"Jain darling how have you been?" she replied in turn. She looked to be in her early forties and had several small scars, like scrapes or scratches, on her palms and forearms which Natasha noticed when she waved hello.

"Doctor Kimura what are you doing here?" The Captain asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Doctor Bright couldn't make it. He's in his lab doing unimportant things. So he pawned it off to me, just be glad that I, Chief Medical officer and NERV's most valuable employ, had nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon." She waited for a response when none came she continued. "Anyway here are the files you asked for." She shook the stack of papers in her hand gesturing for him to take them.

Seeing this, Captain Clark released the brake and pushed the accelerator incrementally forward. "Can't, I'm driving." The Doctor furrower her brow. Seeing this Clark reassured her "They're just the Pilots schedules until the schools open back up again. There should be 3 copy's, pass them out. Don't worry I've got them memorized." He tapped his temple.

"Hold on a second why do we need schedules? I didn't have a schedule before." Jain said in annoyance.

"The angels have returned, your time isn't your own anymore. The public schools should open in about a month or so, I intend to use this period to turn you three into an effective fighting force." Both Alex and Jain gulped.

Natasha looked through the papers. I don't see what their problem is? I've been on a schedule similar to this almost all my life? She thought to herself. Hold on a sec? "Excuse me sir?"

"Go ahead"

"Why do we need psychological counseling? Wouldn't that time be better spent in combat simulators?"

He took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her. "Piloting the Evas takes a toll on both the body and mind if either one is damaged then it will severely impact your ability to function as pilots." He looked back at the road. "If you can't pilot your Eva you're worse than useless you're a liability."

After a long pause Jain broke the silence. "Why do we need firearms training? If we get in a fight don't we have Giant robots?"

This time Doctor Kimura answered "Not every threat to NERV will be an angel. There are some people out there that might want to hurt NERV by killing its pilots. After all it takes the Marduk Institute awhile to find a replacement. And in the meantime that would leave us vulnerable to an angel attack. Also Jain the Evas aren't robots they're living beings just like you or I."

"Sorry Doctor Kimura" Jain said sheepishly

Did Jain just apologies!? Natasha and Alexander gave each other confused looks not believing what they just heard. In the short time the three had known each other they had scarcely heard Jain be quiet let alone apologize for something.

At that very moment the car skidded to a halt and everyone lurched forward. "We're here!" The Captain said then looked back at his young passengers then at the woman sitting next to him.

"Where did you learn to break?" She said angrily "I nearly broke my nose on the dashboard!"

They all exited the car at the same time and Natasha caught her first glimpse of their destination. That's the barracks? It was unlike any barracks she had ever seen and a far cry from her old accommodation at NERV 07. It was a lakeside two story ranch style house complete with a porch.

Sitting on the porch steps was an angry looking blonde woman with green eyes wearing a uniform similar to the Captain's but tailored for a woman. "Pvt. Benson you're late!" She paused when she saw the Captain who snapped a salute when he heard her voice. "Captain Clark? What are…? Doctor Kimura?" The look on her face shifted from anger to confusion.

"Major Green I didn't expect you to be here." The Captain said. Upon hearing the name Alex perked up and shifted his attention away from the shimmering waters of the lake on the other side of the road.

"Abby!" he let out a large grin.

Clark looked at him amazed at his informality. Then down at his own unkempt uniform and winced. He clearly wasn't expecting to run into any superior officers today. Natasha thought to herself.

She grinned back at him then looked to Clark "At ease Capitan." He let his hand fall to his side.

"I wasn't expecting anyone to be here. I was just going to give the pilots a tour of their new barracks." This made the blonde woman frown.

"Does this look like a barracks to you?" She asked rhetorically. "I've read your file Capitan. Your very G.I. pardon the expression." She looked him up and down. "Except for your uniform." Clark cursed quietly in English. Doctor Kimura snickered which captured the attention of the other woman. "Doctor Kimura don't you have better things to do than just standing there?"

The Doctor touched a hand to her face. "You'd think so but no, I don't," She said still half-smiling.

This act of insubordination clearly angered the Major and the pilots could see it on her face for a second before she steeled herself. She smiled back at the Doctor and said "Are you sure? I could have sworn that you had a heap of paperwork back at your office."

"It wasn't that much I finished it all this…" catching her meaning she narrowed her eyes. "Clark I have work to do back at the base, can you drive me?"

He looked to the Major who gave him a nod. "Sure I can."

After they pulled out of the driveway and took off down the road the Operations Director turned her attention to the pilots who were quite stunned. Seeing this she clapped her hands together. "Ok everyone who wants to see inside?" She said with a smile, gesturing them to follow her.

The three followed her hesitantly at first but soon changed pace when they saw the inside. The house wasn't overly big but it seemed all the more spacious thanks to a lack of furniture, carpeting, wall decoration or anything else that might make a home feel like a home.

Jain ran ahead while the rest took off their shoes. "How long has this place been here?!" she half shouted. "I've never seen it before in my life."

"It was built on the orders of the Commander of NERV before Fujiyama. It was purposely built out of the way so it wouldn't interfere if they ever wanted to expand NERV HQ." Abby answered, "I noticed the blueprints when I was getting acquainted with the geofront for my new position.

Alex followed the two hesitantly, inspecting every detail of his new home. He seemed to have woken up at this point. He was saying something to the Operations Director in English. They seemed very happy to see each other.

The interior was simple. To the left was a hallway branching into individual bedrooms, to the right was stairs to the attic. In the middle of this was a communal room with kitchen nook. The entire building was completely devoid of furniture and carpeting. A fine film of dust covered every surface like the fuzz on a peach.

The blonde woman pointed down the hallway "The 3 doors on the left will be your rooms the one next to the turn will be mine" she said with an energetic grin. This caused a confused reaction from the pilots.

"You're living with us?!" Jain said appalled at the very idea "I… we don't need supervision we're Trained Evangelion Pilots!"

Abby looked at Jain and walked up to her bending over and staring her dead in the face. "You may be Eva pilots, have advanced combat training and be humanity's last line of defense against the angels but you're still hormonal teenagers and I'll be damned if I left you alone in a house unsupervised!" flames appeared in the blond woman's eyes.

Jain let out a small "eep."


End file.
